Multi-frequency band communication based on filter sharing

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for operating transceiver circuitry to transmit or receive signals on various frequency ranges. To do so, a transmitter or a receiver of the transceiver circuitry is selectively coupled to or uncoupled from an antenna of the transceiver circuitry. Additionally, radio frequency filters may be individually or collectively coupled to and/or uncoupled from the antenna to filter different frequencies in the transmitting or receiving signals.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates generally to electronic devices, and moreparticularly, to electronic devices that utilize radio frequencysignals, transmitters, and receivers for wireless communication.

This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects ofart that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure,which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed tobe helpful in providing the reader with background information tofacilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the presentdisclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statementsare to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.

Transmitters and/or receivers are commonly included in variouselectronic devices, and more particularly, portable electroniccommunication devices, such as phones (e.g., mobile and cellular phones,cordless phones, personal assistance devices), computers (e.g., laptops,tablet computers), routers (e.g., Wi-Fi routers or modems), radios,televisions, or any of various other stationary or handheld devices, toenable communication. In some electronic devices, a transmitter and areceiver are combined to form a transceiver. For ease of discussion,transceivers are discussed in the present disclosure, but it should beunderstood that the following descriptions may apply individually totransmitters and/or receivers (e.g., that may not be included in atransceiver).

Traditional electronic devices may include multiple sets of radiofrequency filters that allow signals having desired frequencies to passthrough and/or block signals having undesired frequencies. For example,a transmitter of an electronic device may include multiple transmitfilters that each correspond to transmitting signals at differentfrequency bands, and a receiver of the electronic device may includemultiple receive filters that each correspond to receiving signals atcertain frequency bands. However, as new frequency bands are used forwireless communication, more radio frequency filters may be added to theelectronic device to enable the electronic device to transmit andreceive signals over the new frequency bands, taking up valuable spacein the electronic devices.

Moreover, signal paths in conventional electronic devices may havelengths as long as a quarter-wavelength of a signal to be transmitted orreceived via the signal paths. While, such lengths may be used forsignals having relatively narrow wavelength ranges, thequarter-wavelength signal paths may be unsuitable for communicating onwider bands of communication frequencies, such as a fifth generation(5G) network, since 5G communications use frequencies spanning arelatively large frequency band (e.g., between 24 Gigahertz (GHz) and 48GHz).

Various refinements of the features noted above may exist in relation tovarious aspects of the present disclosure. Further features may also beincorporated in these various aspects as well. These refinements andadditional features may exist individually or in any combination. Forinstance, various features discussed below in relation to one or more ofthe illustrated embodiments may be incorporated into any of theabove-described aspects of the present disclosure alone or in anycombination. The brief summary presented above is intended tofamiliarize the reader with certain aspects and contexts of embodimentsof the present disclosure without limitation to the claimed subjectmatter.

SUMMARY

A summary of certain embodiments disclosed herein is set forth below. Itshould be understood that these aspects are presented merely to providethe reader with a brief summary of these certain embodiments and thatthese aspects are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure.Indeed, this disclosure may encompass a variety of aspects that may notbe set forth below.

An electronic device may include multiple radio frequency filters, andcouple to a transmitter and a receiver to enable sharing of the radiofrequency filters. In particular, the electronic device may dynamicallycouple an antenna to the transmitter to send transmission signals, anddynamically couple to the antenna to the receiver to receive receivingsignals. The transmitter and receiver may each be dynamically coupled tomultiple radio frequency filters, each of which may filter differentfrequency bands or ranges. Moreover, multiple radio frequency filtersmay be dynamically coupled to the transmitter and/or receiver at thesame time to combine together and filter additional frequency bands.

Generally, the radio frequency filters may include a first radiofrequency filter that enables signals of a first frequency band to passthrough (e.g., while blocking signals outside of the first frequencyband), a second radio frequency filter that enables signals of a secondfrequency band to pass through (e.g., while blocking signals outside ofthe second frequency band), and, when the first and second radiofrequency filters are coupled together, the first and second radiofrequency filters enable signals of a third frequency band to passthrough (e.g., while blocking signals outside of the third frequencyband). For example, in the case of ultra-wideband frequencies, such asthose used by fifth generation (5G) networks (e.g., between 24 Gigahertz(GHz) and 48 GHz), the radio frequency filters may include a first radiofrequency filter that enables signals of a first frequency band (e.g.,between 24 GHz and 33 GHz) to pass through (e.g., in a first state), asecond radio frequency filter that, when combined with the first radiofrequency filter (e.g., in a second state), enables signals of a secondfrequency band (e.g., between 37 GHz and 43 GHz) to pass through, and athird frequency filter that, when combined with the first and secondradio frequency filters (e.g., in a third state), enables signals of athird frequency band (e.g., between 47 GHz and 49 GHz) to pass through.It is noted that, although described in particular reference to 5Gnetworks, and frequency bands used in the 5G networks, these systems andmethods of filter sharing may be applied to a wide variety of networksand frequency ranges as long as the networks and/or frequency ranges areable to share antenna circuitry. Indeed, these systems and methods maybe applied to antennas used to transmit and/or receive signals for 4Gnetwork communication, 3G network communications, 2G networkcommunications, or the like.

By enabling both the transmitter and receiver to use the same radiofrequency filters, and using the radio frequency filters individuallyand in combination to filter different frequency bands, the number offilters in the electronic device may be significantly reduced, resultingin a smaller electronic device overall and/or enabling additionalcomponents to be included in the electronic device.

Indeed, in some cases, a device may include a first filter coupled to anantenna and a second filter coupled to a first low noise amplifier. Thedevice may also include a third filter coupled to a second low noiseamplifier and a controller. The controller may transmit a transmitsignal on a first frequency band by coupling the first filter to a poweramplifier, uncoupling the second filter from the antenna and the poweramplifier, and uncoupling the third filter from the antenna and thepower amplifier based at least in part on one or more control signalsindicating a first state. The controller may transmit the transmitsignal on a second frequency band by coupling the first filter to thepower amplifier, coupling the second filter to the antenna and the poweramplifier, and uncoupling the third filter from the antenna and thepower amplifier based at least in part on the one or more controlsignals indicating a second state. The controller may transmit thetransmit signal on a third frequency band by coupling the first filterto the power amplifier, coupling the second filter to the antenna andthe power amplifier, and coupling the third filter to the antenna andthe power amplifier based at least in part on the one or more controlsignals indicating a third state.

In some systems, an electronic device may include a first switch able tocouple an antenna and a first filter to a first low noise amplifier viaa second filter. The electronic device may include a second switch ableto couple the antenna and the first filter to a second low noiseamplifier via a third filter. The electronic device may also include athird switch able to couple the antenna and the first filter to a poweramplifier. The electronic device may also include a controller. Theelectronic device may receive a receive signal on a first frequency bandbased on the controller activating the first switch to couple the firstlow noise amplifier and the second filter to the antenna and the firstfilter, and deactivating the second switch and the third switch touncouple the second low noise amplifier, the third filter, and the poweramplifier from the antenna. The electronic device may receive thereceive signal on a second frequency band based on the controlleractivating the second switch to couple the second low noise amplifierand the third filter to the antenna and the first filter, anddeactivating the first switch and the third switch to uncouple the firstlow noise amplifier, the second filter, and the power amplifier from theantenna. Furthermore, the electronic device may receive the receivesignal on a third frequency band by activating the first switch and thesecond switch to couple the first low noise amplifier, the secondfilter, the second low noise amplifier, and the third filter to theantenna and the first filter, and deactivating the third switch touncouple the power amplifier from the antenna.

In yet another example, a method may include receiving a frequency bandparameter and a transmission or reception (TX/RX) parameter. Thefrequency band parameter and the TX/RX parameter may indicate anoperational state of an antenna. The antenna may be coupled to a firstfilter and able to couple to at least one of a second filter or a thirdfilter. In response to the TX/RX parameter indicating a transmissionoperation, the method may include coupling the antenna to a poweramplifier, where the power amplifier may amplify a transmit signalassociated with the transmission operation. In response to the frequencyband parameter indicating a first frequency band, the method may includeuncoupling the second filter and the third filter from the antenna. Inresponse to the frequency band parameter indicating a second frequencyband, the method may include coupling the second filter to the antennaand uncoupling the third filter from the antenna. In response to thefrequency band parameter indicating a third frequency band, the methodmay include coupling the second filter and the third filter to theantenna. In some cases, the method may include transmitting the transmitsignal using the power amplifier and the antenna.

Various refinements of the features noted above may exist in relation tovarious aspects of the present disclosure. Further features may also beincorporated in these various aspects as well. These refinements andadditional features may exist individually or in any combination. Forinstance, various features discussed below in relation to one or more ofthe illustrated embodiments may be incorporated into any of theabove-described aspects of the present disclosure alone or in anycombination. The brief summary presented above is intended tofamiliarize the reader with certain aspects and contexts of embodimentsof the present disclosure without limitation to the claimed subjectmatter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various aspects of this disclosure may be better understood upon readingthe following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an electronic device including atransceiver, in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a notebook computer representing a firstembodiment of the electronic device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of a handheld device representing a secondembodiment of the electronic device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a front view of another handheld device representing a thirdembodiment of the electronic device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a front view of a desktop computer representing a fourthembodiment of the electronic device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a front view and side view of a wearable electronic devicerepresenting a fifth embodiment of the electronic device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of at least a portion of a transceiver ofthe electronic device of FIG. 1 including transmitter circuitry,receiver circuitry, and radio frequency filtering circuitry shared bythe transmitter and receiver circuitries, in accordance with anembodiment;

FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram of the transceiver of FIG. 7 operating totransmit radio frequency (RF) signals having a first frequency range(e.g., approximately between 24 Gigahertz (GHz) and 33 GHz), inaccordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram of the transceiver of FIG. 7 operating totransmit RF signals having a second frequency range (e.g., approximatelybetween 37 GHz and 43 GHz), in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram of at least a portion of the transceiver ofFIG. 7 operating to transmit RF signals having a third frequency of(e.g., approximately 48 GHz), in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a circuit diagram of at least a portion of the transceiver ofFIG. 7 operating to receive RF signals having the first frequency range(e.g., approximately between 24 GHz and 33 GHz), in accordance with anembodiment;

FIG. 12 is a circuit diagram of at least a portion of the transceiver ofFIG. 7 operating to receive RF signals having the second frequency range(e.g., approximately between 37 GHz and 43 GHz), in accordance with anembodiment;

FIG. 13 is a circuit diagram of the transceiver of FIG. 7 operating toreceive RF signals having the third frequency (e.g., approximately 48GHz), in accordance with an embodiment; and

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a method for operating theelectronic device of FIG. 1 to transmit and/or receive RF signals havinga frequency range approximately between 24 GHz and 33 GHz, a frequencyrange approximately between 37 GHz and 43 GHz, and/or a frequency ofapproximately 48 GHz, in accordance with an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed below. These described embodiments are examples of thepresently disclosed techniques. Additionally, in an effort to provide aconcise description of these embodiments, all features of an actualimplementation may not be described in the specification. It should beappreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation,as in any engineering or design project, numerousimplementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve thedevelopers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related andbusiness-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation toanother. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a developmenteffort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be aroutine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those ofordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.

When introducing elements of various embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the articles “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to mean thatthere are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,”“including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean thatthere may be additional elements other than the listed elements.Additionally, it should be understood that references to “oneembodiment” or “an embodiment” of the present disclosure are notintended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additionalembodiments that also incorporate the recited features.

Various processes are disclosed that may be used to adjust an operatingfrequency range of a transceiver. The processes may apply to a varietyof electronic devices. In some embodiments, a control system (e.g., acontroller) of an electronic device may couple or uncouple a transmitterand/or a receiver to or from an antenna. The control system may alsocouple or uncouple one or more radio frequency filters to and from thetransmitter or receiver, individually or in combination, to filtersignals of different frequencies. These processes bring certainadvantages to operation, as is described herein. With the foregoing inmind, a general description of suitable electronic devices that mayinclude such a transceiver is provided below.

Turning first to FIG. 1, an electronic device 10 according to anembodiment of the present disclosure may include, among other things,one or more of processor(s) 12, memory 14, nonvolatile storage 16, adisplay 18, a controller 20, input structures 22, an input/output (I/O)interface 24, a network interface 26, a transceiver 28, and a powersource 30. The various functional blocks shown in FIG. 1 may includehardware elements (including circuitry), software elements (includingcomputer code stored on a computer-readable medium) or a combination ofboth hardware and software elements. Furthermore, a combination ofelements may be included in tangible, non-transitory, andmachine-readable medium that include machine-readable instructions. Theinstructions may be executed by the processor 12 and may cause theprocessor 12 to perform operations as described herein. It should benoted that FIG. 1 is merely one example of a particular embodiment andis intended to illustrate the types of elements that may be present inthe electronic device 10.

By way of example, the electronic device 10 may represent a blockdiagram of the notebook computer depicted in FIG. 2, the handheld devicedepicted in FIG. 3, the handheld device depicted in FIG. 4, the desktopcomputer depicted in FIG. 5, the wearable electronic device depicted inFIG. 6, or similar devices. It should be noted that the processor 12 andother related items in FIG. 1 may be generally referred to herein as“data processing circuitry.” Such data processing circuitry may beembodied wholly or in part as software, firmware, hardware, or anycombination thereof. Furthermore, the data processing circuitry may be asingle contained processing module or may be incorporated wholly orpartially within any of the other elements within the electronic device10.

In the electronic device 10 of FIG. 1, the processor 12 may operablycouple with the memory 14 and the nonvolatile storage 16 to performvarious algorithms. Such programs or instructions executed by theprocessor 12 may be stored in any suitable article of manufacture thatincludes one or more tangible, computer-readable media at leastcollectively storing the instructions or processes, such as the memory14 and the nonvolatile storage 16. The memory 14 and the nonvolatilestorage 16 may include any suitable articles of manufacture for storingdata and executable instructions, such as random-access memory,read-only memory, rewritable flash memory, hard drives, and opticaldiscs. Also, programs (e.g., an operating system) encoded on such acomputer program product may also include instructions executable by theprocessor 12 to enable the electronic device 10 to provide variousfunctionalities.

In certain embodiments, the display 18 may be a liquid crystal display(LCD), which may facilitate users to view images generated on theelectronic device 10. In some embodiments, the display 18 may include atouch screen, which may facilitate user interaction with a userinterface of the electronic device 10. Furthermore, it should beappreciated that, in some embodiments, the display 18 may include one ormore organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays, or some combinationof LCD panels and OLED panels.

A controller 20 may also be inducted in the electronic device 10. Thecontroller 20 may include one or more of the processors 12. In somecases, the controller 20 may operate circuitry to input or output datagenerated by the electronic device 10. For example, the controller 20may control and/or operate the memory 14, the storage 16, display 18,input structures 22, an input/output (I/O interface) 24, a networkinterface 26, a transceiver 28, a power source 29, or the like toperform operations of the electronic device 10 and/or to facilitatecontrol of the operations of the electronic device. In particular, thecontroller 20 may generate control signals for operating the transceiver28 to transmit and/or receive data on one or more communicationnetworks.

The input structures 22 of the electronic device 10 may enable a user tointeract with the electronic device 10 (e.g., pressing a button toincrease or decrease a volume level). The I/O interface 24 may enablethe electronic device 10 to interface with various other electronicdevices, as may the network interface 26. The network interface 26 mayinclude, for example, one or more interfaces for a personal area network(PAN), such as a BLUETOOTH® network, for a local area network (LAN) orwireless local area network (WLAN), such as an 802.11x WI-FI® network,and/or for a wide area network (WAN), such as a 3^(rd) generation (3G)cellular network, 4^(th) generation (4G) cellular network, long termevolution (LTE®) cellular network, long term evolution license assistedaccess (LTE-LAA) cellular network, 5^(th) generation (5G) cellularnetwork, or New Radio (NR) cellular network. The network interface 26may also include one or more interfaces for, for example, broadbandfixed wireless access networks (e.g., WIMAX®), mobile broadband Wirelessnetworks (mobile WIMAX®), asynchronous digital subscriber lines (e.g.,ADSL, VDSL), digital video broadcasting-terrestrial (DVB-T®) network andits extension DVB Handheld (DVB-H®) network, ultra-wideband (UWB)network, alternating current (AC) power lines, and so forth.

In some embodiments, the electronic device 10 communicates over theaforementioned wireless networks (e.g., WI-FI®, WIMAX®, mobile WIMAX®,4G, LTE®, 5G, and so forth) using the transceiver 28. The transceiver 28may include circuitry useful in both wirelessly receiving and wirelesslytransmitting signals (e.g., data signals, wireless data signals,wireless carrier signals, RF signals), such as a transmitter and/or areceiver. Indeed, in some embodiments, the transceiver 28 may include atransmitter and a receiver combined into a single unit, or, in otherembodiments, the transceiver 28 may include a transmitter separate froma receiver. The transceiver 28 may transmit and/or receive RF signals tosupport voice and/or data communication in wireless applications suchas, for example, PAN networks (e.g., BLUETOOTH®), WLAN networks (e.g.,802.11x WI-FI®)), WAN networks (e.g., 3G, 4G, 5G, NR, and LTE® andLTE-LAA cellular networks), WIMAX® networks, mobile WIMAX® networks,ADSL and VDSL networks, DVB-T® and DVB-H® networks, UWB networks, and soforth. As further illustrated, the electronic device 10 may include thepower source 30. The power source 30 may include any suitable source ofpower, such as a rechargeable lithium polymer (Li-poly) battery and/oran alternating current (AC) power converter.

In certain embodiments, the electronic device 10 may take the form of acomputer, a portable electronic device, a wearable electronic device, orother type of electronic device. Such computers may be generallyportable (such as laptop, notebook, and tablet computers) and/or thosethat are generally used in one place (such as conventional desktopcomputers, workstations and/or servers). In certain embodiments, theelectronic device 10 in the form of a computer may be a model of aMacBook®, MacBook® Pro, MacBook Air®, iMac®, Mac® mini, or Mac Pro®available from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. By way of example, theelectronic device 10, taking the form of a notebook computer 10A, isillustrated in FIG. 2 in accordance with one embodiment of the presentdisclosure. The notebook computer 10A may include a housing or theenclosure 36, the display 18, the input structures 22, and portsassociated with the I/O interface 24. In one embodiment, the inputstructures 22 (such as a keyboard and/or touchpad) may enableinteraction with the notebook computer 10A, such as starting,controlling, or operating a graphical user interface (GUI) and/orapplications running on the notebook computer 10A. For example, akeyboard and/or touchpad may facilitate user interaction with a userinterface, GUI, and/or application interface displayed on display 18.

FIG. 3 depicts a front view of a handheld device 10B, which representsone embodiment of the electronic device 10. The handheld device 10B mayrepresent, for example, a portable phone, a media player, a personaldata organizer, a handheld game platform, or any combination of suchdevices. By way of example, the handheld device 10B may be a model of aniPod® or iPhone® available from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. Thehandheld device 10B may include the enclosure 36 to protect interiorelements from physical damage and to shield them from electromagneticinterference. The enclosure 36 may surround the display 18. The I/Ointerface 24 may open through the enclosure 36 and may include, forexample, an I/O port for a hard wired connection for charging and/orcontent manipulation using a standard connector and protocol, such asthe Lightning connector provided by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif., auniversal serial bus (USB), or other similar connector and protocol.

The input structures 22, in combination with the display 18, may enableuser control of the handheld device 10B. For example, the inputstructures 22 may activate or deactivate the handheld device 10B,navigate a user interface to a home screen, present a user-editableapplication screen, and/or activate a voice-recognition feature of thehandheld device 10B. Other of the input structures 22 may provide volumecontrol, or may toggle between vibrate and ring modes. The inputstructures 22 may also include a microphone to obtain a user's voice forvarious voice-related features, and a speaker to enable audio playback.The input structures 22 may also include a headphone input to enableinput from external speakers and/or headphones.

FIG. 4 depicts a front view of another handheld device 10C, whichrepresents another embodiment of the electronic device 10. The handhelddevice 10C may represent, for example, a tablet computer, or one ofvarious portable computing devices. By way of example, the handhelddevice 10C may be a tablet-sized embodiment of the electronic device 10,which may be, for example, a model of an iPad® available from Apple Inc.of Cupertino, Calif.

Turning to FIG. 5, a computer 10D may represent another embodiment ofthe electronic device 10 of FIG. 1. The computer 10D may be anycomputer, such as a desktop computer, a server, or a notebook computer,but may also be a standalone media player or video gaming machine. Byway of example, the computer 10D may be an iMac®, a MacBook®, or othersimilar device by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. It should be notedthat the computer 10D may also represent a personal computer (PC) byanother manufacturer. The enclosure 36 may protect and enclose internalelements of the computer 10D, such as the display 18. In certainembodiments, a user of the computer 10D may interact with the computer10D using various peripheral input devices, such as keyboard 22A ormouse 22B (e.g., input structures 22), which may operatively couple tothe computer 10D.

Similarly, FIG. 6 depicts a wearable electronic device 10E representinganother embodiment of the electronic device 10 of FIG. 1. By way ofexample, the wearable electronic device 10E, which may include awristband 43, may be an Apple Watch® by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.However, in other embodiments, the wearable electronic device 10E mayinclude any wearable electronic device such as, a wearable exercisemonitoring device (e.g., pedometer, accelerometer, heart rate monitor),or other device by another manufacturer. The display 18 of the wearableelectronic device 10E may include a touch screen version of the display18 (e.g., LCD, OLED display, active-matrix organic light emitting diode(AMOLED) display, and so forth), as well as the input structures 22,which may facilitate user interaction with a user interface of thewearable electronic device 10E. In certain embodiments, as previouslynoted above, each embodiment (e.g., notebook computer 10A, handhelddevice 10B, handheld device 10C, computer 10D, and wearable electronicdevice 10E) of the electronic device 10 may include the transceiver 28.

Keeping the foregoing in mind, FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of at least aportion of the transceiver 28 operating to transmit and/or receive radiofrequency (RF) signals using transmitter circuitry 50, receivercircuitry 51, and circuitry shared by the transmitter and receivercircuitries 50, 51 (shared circuitry 52), according to embodiments ofthe present disclosure. The transmitter circuitry 50 may includetransmitter processing circuitry 54 that processes transmission signalsand sends the processed transmission signals to a power amplifier 56 foramplification prior to transmission via an antenna 57. The receivercircuitry 51 receives signals from the antenna 57 as part of a receiveoperation and may amplify the received signals using one or more lownoise amplifiers (LNAs) 60 (60A, 60B) prior to sending the signals toreceiver processing circuitry 58 (58A, 58B) for processing.

The one or more LNAs 60 may increase a magnitude of a signal withoutincreasing noise of the signal. For example, LNAs 60A, 60B mayrespectively receive a receive signal from the antenna 57, depending onwhich receive mode the transceiver 28 is using, and increase themagnitude of a signal without increasing noise of the receive signal.Although two LNAs 60 are depicted, it should be understood that anynumber of LNAs may be implemented in the transceiver 28, such as two,three, four, or more LNAs to amplify any suitable number of frequencybands. In the illustrated embodiment, the LNA 60A may process relativelylower frequencies (e.g., corresponding to a low-band or mid-band lownoise amplifier) and the LNA 60B may process relatively higherfrequencies (e.g., corresponding to a high-band low noise amplifier). Insome embodiments, a controller 20 or other circuitry of the receivercircuitry 51 (not depicted) may regulate power supplied to the LNAs 60A,60B according to average power tracking of the modified signal orenvelope tracking of the signal.

Receive signals output from the LNAs 60A, 60B or other circuitry of thereceiver circuitry 51 may be transmitted to the receiver processingcircuitry 58 for additional processing, such as by filtering and/ordemodulating the signals. The receiver processing circuitry 58 mayinclude any suitable hardware or software to perform a variety ofsignal-improving or signal-analysis operations on a receive signal fromthe antenna 57. For example, the receiver processing circuitry 58 mayinclude an analog-to-digital converter, additional filtering circuitry,phase shifting circuitry (e.g., 180 degree phase shifter) or the like.

The shared circuitry 52 may be used by both the transmitter circuitry 50for transmitting signals and the receiver circuitry 51 for receivingsignals. The shared circuitry 52 thus includes the antenna 57, as wellas radio circuitry filtering circuitry that may enable pass through ofsignals of desired frequencies or blocking of signals of undesiredfrequencies. In particular, the transmitter circuitry 50 may includeswitching circuitry 62 (e.g., switch 62A) that enables the transmittercircuitry 50 to couple to the antenna 57 to send signals and uncouplefrom the antenna 57 (e.g., when the receiver circuitry 51 receivessignals). Similarly, the receiver circuitry 51 may include switchingcircuitry 62 (e.g., switch 62F, 62G) that enables the receiver circuitry51 to couple to the antenna 57 to receive signals and uncouple from theantenna 57 (e.g., when the transmitter circuitry 50 sends signals).

In particular, the power amplifier 56 may be coupled to the antenna 57through a switch 62A when turned on (e.g., activated to enable currentto flow through) via control signal 51. The switch 62A and/or anyswitching circuitry 62 (e.g., 62B, 62C, 62D, 62E, 62F, 62G) discussedherein may be any suitable transistor or switching device, such as ametal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET),insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), or the like, and may each becontrolled by respective control signals S (e.g., S1, S2, S3, S4, S5). Acontroller 20 may transmit a control signal (e.g., control signal S2)having a voltage value suitable to cause the terminals of the respectivetransistors used for the switching circuitry 62 to conduct, thusrespectively turning on, or activating, the switching circuitry 62. Whena voltage value is unsuitable to cause the terminals to conduct, it maybe said that the switching circuitry 62 is deactivated or turned off.

The antenna 57 may also be coupled to a filter 64. The filter 64 mayremove (e.g., filter, attenuate to zero amplitude or to a loweramplitude) signals characterized by a frequency lower or higher than athreshold frequency range. In this way, the filter 64 may improve an RFsignal quality (e.g., reduce noise, isolate desired frequencies fromundesired frequencies). The filter 64 is shown to include an inductor 66coupled in parallel with a capacitor 68. However, it should beunderstood that any combination of filtering circuitry and/orattenuation circuitry may be used to pass a desired range offrequencies. For example, any suitable filter or attenuation circuitrymay be used in place of or in addition to the filter 64, and the filter64 may be considered a high pass filter, a bandpass filter, or the like.The shared circuitry 52 may also include additional radio frequencyfiltering circuitry (e.g., filters 70A, 70B) that may individuallyfilter signals of different radio frequency bands, and, when joined incombination, filter signals of additional radio frequency bands.

For example, the filter 64 may be used alone to pass transmit or receivesignals within a first frequency range (e.g., between 24 Gigahertz (GHz)and 33 GHz) and block signals outside of the first frequency range. Whenthe filter 64 is combined with a filter 70A, such as through at leastthe switch 62B, the combination of filtering circuitry may be used topass transmit or receive signals within a second frequency range (e.g.,between 37 GHz and 43 GHz) and block signals outside of the secondfrequency range. Furthermore, when the filter 64 is combined with thefilter 70A and a filter 70B, such as through the switches 62B and 62C,the combination of filtering circuitry may be used to pass transmit orreceive signals within a third frequency range (e.g., 48 GHz, between 47GHz and 49 GHz) and block signals outside of the third frequency range.

By sharing filtering circuitry (e.g., filters, circuitry characterizedby an impedance) between transmit operations and receive operations(e.g., by toggling on and off switches 62A, 62F, 62G to couple thetransmitter circuitry 50 or the receiver circuitry 51 to the sharedcircuitry 52), and selecting different filters 64, 70A, 70B (e.g., bytoggling on and off switches 62B, 62C, 62D, 62E) based on desiredfiltering frequencies, the transceiver 28 may communicate with signalshaving a relatively wide variety of frequencies. These ranges, forexample, may include frequencies within a threshold range of thesefrequencies, such as within 1 GHz, 500 Megahertz (MHz), 100 MHz, 10 MHz,100 Hertz (Hz), and so on. It is noted that in this disclosure, threefiltering circuits are used to enable the transceiver 28 to processthree different frequency ranges. However, it should be understood thatdifferent filters, a different number of filters, and/or differentimpedances may be used to enable the transceiver 28 to process differentfrequency ranges (e.g., frequency ranges of different frequencies, adifferent number of frequency ranges).

To help elaborate on the transmit operations, FIG. 8 is a circuitdiagram of the transceiver 28 of FIG. 7 operating in the first transmitmode to transmit signals (e.g., transmit signal 72) having a firstfrequency range (e.g., approximately between 24 GHz and 33 GHz),according to embodiments of the present disclosure and corresponding tooperations of at least block 122 of FIG. 14. It is noted, as used in thefigures, when a switch is represented with a solid line, the switch ison or closed (e.g., able to conduct), and when a switch is representedwith a dashed line, the switch is off or open (e.g., not conducting).The signals described above may be processed by the transceiver 28.While in the first transmit mode, the transceiver 28 may process signalshaving frequencies in the first frequency range.

In particular, the filter 64 may enable frequencies of the transmitsignal 72 within the first frequency range to pass through, while blockfrequencies of the transmit signal 72 that are outside the firstfrequency range. To do so, a controller 20 of the processors 12 may turnon the switch 62A to couple the transmitter circuitry 50, via the poweramplifier 56, to the filter 64 and the antenna 57. The controller 20 mayalso turn off the switch 62B to uncouple the filter 70A, the LNA 60A,and the receiver processing circuitry 58A from the antenna 57. As such,the transmit signal 72 may not be filtered by the filter 70A, and may beisolated from the LNA 60A and the receiver processing circuitry 58A.Similarly, the controller 20 may additionally turn off the switch 62C touncouple the filter 70B, the LNA 60B, and the receiver processingcircuitry 58B from the antenna 57. As such, the transmit signal 72 maynot be filtered by the filter 70B, and may be isolated from the LNA 60Band the receiver processing circuitry 58B. Furthermore, the controller20 may operate the switch 62D off, the switch 62E off, the switch 62Foff, and the switch 62G off.

When the switches operate in this configuration, the transceiver 28 usesthe filter 64 to process the transmit signal 72 output from thetransmitter processing circuitry 54 for transmission, but does not usethe filter 70A and the filter 70B. Moreover, the transmit signal 72 isisolated from the receiver circuitry 51. To filter frequencies from thetransmit signal 72 different than the first frequency band, instead ofusing a completely different filter or set of filters than the filter64, an additional filter (e.g., the filter 70A) may be combined with thefilter 64. This is shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram of the transceiver 28 of FIG. 7 operating inthe second transmit mode to transmit signals (e.g., transmit signal 72)having a second frequency range (e.g., approximately between 37 GHz and43 GHz), according to embodiments of the present disclosure andcorresponding to operations of at least block 126 of FIG. 14. Thecombination of the filter 64 and the filter 70A may enable frequenciesof the transmit signal 72 within the second frequency range to passthrough to the antenna 57, while blocking frequencies of the transmitsignal 72 that are outside the second frequency range from passingthrough.

To do so, the controller 20 of the processors 12 may turn on the switch62A to couple the transmitter circuitry 50, via the power amplifier 56,to the filter 64 and the antenna 57. The controller 20 may also turn onthe switch 62B and the switch 62D to couple the filter 70A to the filter64, the antenna 57, and the power amplifier 56. However, the controller20 may turn off the switch 62F to decouple the LNA 60A and the receiverprocessing circuitry 58A from the antenna 57. As such, the transmitsignal 72 may be filtered by the filter 70A in combination with thefilter 64, and may be isolated from the LNA 60A and the receiverprocessing circuitry 58A. The controller 20 may additionally turn offthe switch 62C to uncouple the filter 70B, the LNA 60B, and the receiverprocessing circuitry 58B from the antenna 57. As such, the transmitsignal 72 may not be filtered by the filter 70B, and may be isolatedfrom the LNA 60B and the receiver processing circuitry 58B. Furthermore,the controller 20 may operate the switch 62E off, the switch 62F off,and the switch 62G off.

When the switches operate in this configuration, the transceiver 28 usesthe filter 64 and the filter 70A to process the transmit signal 72output from the transmitter processing circuitry 54 for transmission,but does not use the filter 70B. Moreover, the transmit signal 72 isisolated from the receiver circuitry 51. To filter frequencies from thetransmit signal 72 different than the first and second frequency bands,instead of using a completely different filter or set of filters thanthe filter 64, an additional filter (e.g., the filter 70B) may becombined with the filter 64 and the filter 70A. This is shown in FIG.10.

FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram of the transceiver 28 of FIG. 7 operatingin the third transmit mode to transmit signals (e.g., transmit signal72) having a third frequency range (e.g., approximately 48 GHz, betweenapproximately 47 GHz and 49 GHz), according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure and corresponding to operations of at least block 128of FIG. 14. The combination of the filter 64, the filter 70A, and thefilter 70B may enable frequencies of the transmit signal 72 within thethird frequency range to pass through, while blocking frequencies of thetransmit signal 72 that are outside the second frequency range frompassing through to the antenna 57.

To do so, a controller 20 of the processors 12 may turn on the switch62A to couple the transmitter circuitry 50, via the power amplifier 56,to the filter 64 and the antenna 57. The controller 20 may turn on theswitch 62B and the switch 62D to couple the filter 70A to the filter 64,the antenna 57, and the power amplifier 56. The controller 20 may alsoturn on the switch 62C and the switch 62E to couple the filter 70B tothe filter 64, the filter 70A, the antenna 57, and the power amplifier56. However, the controller 20 may turn off the switch 62F to decouplethe LNA 60A and the receiver processing circuitry 58A from the antenna57 and may turn off the switch 62G to decouple the LNA 60B and thereceiver processing circuitry 58B from the antenna 57. As such, thetransmit signal 72 may be filtered by the filter 70A and the filter 70B,and may be isolated from the LNA 60A, the LNA 60B, the receiverprocessing circuitry 58A, and the receiver processing circuitry 58B.

When the switches operate in this configuration, the transceiver 28 usesthe filter 64, the filter 70A, and the filter 70B to process thetransmit signal 72 transmitted from the transmitter processing circuitry54 for transmission. Moreover, the transmit signal 72 is isolated fromthe receiver circuitry 51. To filter frequencies of signals receivedinstead of transmit signals (e.g., transmit signal 72), instead of usinga completely different filter or set of filters than the filter 64, thefilter 70A may be combined with the filter 64. This is shown in FIG. 11.

To elaborate, the transceiver 28 may be operated to transmit thetransmit signal 72 after amplification via power amplifier 56. In somecases, however, the transceiver 28 may be used to receive one or more RFsignals. Advantageously, the same filters 64, 70A, 70B of the sharedcircuitry 52 used by the transmitter circuitry 50 may be reused by thereceiver circuitry 51 to filter the same or similar frequency bands. Inthis manner, space reserved for receiver filtering circuitry separatefrom transmitter filtering circuitry may be reclaimed or used foradditional components in the electronic device 10.

For example, FIG. 11 is a circuit diagram of the transceiver 28 in afirst receive mode, according to embodiments of the present disclosureand corresponding to operations of at least block 134 of FIG. 14. Thecombination of the filter 64 and the filter 70A may enable frequenciesof a receive signal 100 within the first frequency range (e.g., between24 GHz and 33 GHz) to pass through to the receiver processing circuitry58A, while blocking frequencies of the receive signal 100 that areoutside the first frequency range from passing through.

To do so, the controller 20 of the processors 12 may turn off the switch62A to decouple the transmitter circuitry 50, via the power amplifier56, from the filter 64 and the antenna 57. The controller 20 may turn onthe switch 62B and may turn off the switch 62D to couple the filter 70Ato the filter 64, the antenna 57, and the LNA 60A. However, thecontroller 20 may turn off the switch 62C and the switch 62E to decouplethe filter 70B from the antenna 57. The controller 20 may turn off theswitch 62G to decouple the LNA 60B and the receiver processing circuitry58B from the antenna 57. As such, the receive signal 100 may be filteredby the filter 70A in combination with the filter 64 without beingfiltered by the filter 70B, and may be isolated from the LNA 60B and thereceiver processing circuitry 58B.

When the switches operate in this configuration, the transceiver 28 usesthe filter 64 and the filter 70A to process the receive signal 100received at the antenna 57, but does not use the filter 70B. Moreover,the receive signal 100 is isolated from the transmitter circuitry 50. Tofilter frequencies from the receive signal 100 different than the firstfrequency band, instead of using a completely different filter or set offilters than the filter 64, an additional filter (e.g., the filter 70B)may be combined with the filter 64 instead of the filter 70A. This isshown in FIG. 12.

The controller 20 may also be able to operate the transceiver 28 in asecond receive mode to receive the receive signal 100 using the secondfrequency range. For example, FIG. 12 is a circuit diagram of thetransceiver 28 in the second receive mode, according to embodiments ofthe present disclosure and corresponding to operations of at least block138 of FIG. 14. The combination of the filter 64 and the filter 70A mayenable frequencies of a receive signal 100 within the second frequencyrange (e.g., between 37 GHz and 43 GHz) to pass through to the receiverprocessing circuitry 58B, while blocking frequencies of the receivesignal 100 that are outside the second frequency range from passingthrough.

To do so, the controller 20 of the processors 12 may turn off the switch62A to decouple the transmitter circuitry 50, via the power amplifier56, from the filter 64 and the antenna 57. The controller 20 may turn onthe switch 62C and may turn off the switch 62E to couple the filter 70Bto the filter 64, the antenna 57, and the LNA 60B. The controller 20 mayturn off the switch 62B and the switch 62D to decouple the filter 70Afrom the antenna 57. The controller 20 may turn off the switch 62F todecouple the LNA 60A and the receiver processing circuitry 58A from theantenna 57. As such, the receive signal 100 may be filtered by thefilter 70B in combination with the filter 64 without being filtered bythe filter 70A, and may be isolated from the LNA 60A and the receiverprocessing circuitry 58A.

When the switches operate in this configuration, the transceiver 28 usesthe filter 64 and the filter 70B to process the receive signal 100received at the antenna 57, but does not use the filter 70A. Moreover,the receive signal 100 is isolated from the transmitter circuitry 50. Tofilter frequencies from the receive signal 100 different than the firstor second frequency bands, instead of using a completely differentfilter or set of filters than the filter 64, the filter 70B may becombined with the filter 64 and the filter 70A. This is shown in FIG.13.

FIG. 13 is a circuit diagram of the transceiver 28 in a third receivemode, according to embodiments of the present disclosure andcorresponding to operations of at least block 140 of FIG. 14. Thecombination of the filter 64, the filter 70A, and the filter 70B mayenable frequencies of a receive signal 100 within the third frequencyrange (e.g., approximately 48 GHz, between approximately 47 GHz and 49GHz) to pass through to the receiver processing circuitry 58B, whileblocking frequencies of the receive signal 100 that are outside thethird frequency range.

To do so, the controller 20 of the processors 12 may turn off the switch62A to decouple the transmitter circuitry 50, via the power amplifier56, from the filter 64 and the antenna 57. The controller 20 may turn onthe switch 62C and may turn off the switch 62E to couple the filter 70Bto the filter 64, the antenna 57, and the LNA 60B. The controller 20 mayturn on the switch 62B and the switch 62D to couple the filter 70A tothe antenna 57, the filter 64, and the filter 70B. The controller 20 mayturn off the switch 62F to decouple the LNA 60A and the receiverprocessing circuitry 58A from the antenna 57. As such, the receivesignal 100 may be filtered by the filter 70B in combination with thefilter 64 and the filter 70A, and may be isolated from the LNA 60A andthe receiver processing circuitry 58A.

When the switches operate in this configuration, the transceiver 28 usesthe filter 64, the filter 70A, and the filter 70B to process the receivesignal 100 received at the antenna 57. Moreover, the receive signal 100is isolated from the transmitter circuitry 50. For ease of description,the various operational modes of the transceiver 28 may be summarized inTable 1 below. It is noted that Table 1 outlines relative states of thecertain switching circuitry 62, and how the combination of operation ofthe switching circuitry 62 corresponds to the various operational modesof the transceiver 28, where switch 62A corresponds to S1, the switch62B corresponds to S2, the switch 62C corresponds to S3, the switch 62Dcorresponds to S4, the switch 62E corresponds to S5, the switch 62Fcorresponds to S6, and the switch 62G corresponds to S7. In some cases,Table 1 also outlines the states of the control signals (e.g., controlsignals S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7) supplied to the switching circuitry62. As illustrated, a control signal S that is a logic high “ON” signalactivates (e.g., turns on) the corresponding switching circuitry 62 toclose a circuit, while a control signal S that is a logic low “OFF”signal deactivates (e.g., turns off) the corresponding switchingcircuitry 62 to open a circuit.

TABLE 1 Operational Mode of Transceiver 28 S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 Firsttransmit mode ON OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF (e.g., FIG. 8) Second transmitmode ON ON OFF ON OFF OFF OFF (e.g., FIG. 9) Third transmit mode ON ONON ON ON OFF OFF (e.g., FIG. 10) First receive mode OFF ON OFF OFF OFFON OFF (e.g., FIG. 11) Second receive mode OFF OFF ON OFF OFF OFF ON(e.g., FIG. 12) Third receive mode OFF ON ON ON OFF OFF ON (e.g., FIG.13)

To clarify further on the operation of the transceiver 28, FIG. 14 is aflowchart of a method 110 for operating the electronic device 10 totransmit and/or receive RF signals using a frequency range (e.g.,between approximately 24 GHz and 33 GHz), a second frequency range(e.g., between approximately 37 GHz and 43 GHz), and/or a thirdfrequency range (e.g., between approximately 47 GHz and 49 GHz,approximately 48 GHz), according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure. It is noted that, although depicted in a particular order,the blocks of the method 110 may be performed in any suitable order. Asdescribed herein, the method 110 is described as performed by thecontroller 20, however, it should be understood that any suitableprocessing and/or control circuitry may perform some or all of theoperations of the method 110, such as one or more of the processors 12.

At block 112, the controller 20 may receive a frequency band parameterand a transmission or reception (TX/RX) parameter. These parameters maybe received in same or different data packets. In some cases, thecontroller 20 may receive the frequency band parameter and/or the TX/RXparameter by reading a status of a register, such as a configurationregister, or other suitable types of memory or storage elements of theelectronic device 10. The frequency band parameter may indicate whichfrequency range a portion of the transceiver 28 is to be programmed touse. The TX/RX parameter may indicate whether the portion of thetransceiver 28 is to be programmed to transmit and/or to receivesignals. It is noted that in some embodiments, the frequency bandparameter may expressly indicate the first frequency range or the secondfrequency range. Absent of either indication, the controller 20 maydefault to controlling the transceiver 28 to operate using the thirdfrequency range. In some cases, the controller 20 may default to one ofthe other frequency ranges and/or to one of the other operational modes.

After receiving and/or accessing the frequency band parameter and/or theTX/RX parameter, the controller 20 may, at block 114, determine whetherthe TX/RX parameter indicates a transmission operation or a receptionoperation. The controller 20 may interpret a state or status of theTX/RX parameter to determine whether the parameter indicates atransmission operation or a reception operation.

When the TX/RX parameter indicates that the current operation isassociated with a transmission (TX) operation, the controller 20 may, atblock 116, set a control signal state of the switch 62A to couple theantenna 57 and the filter 64 to the power amplifier 56. At block 120,the controller 20 may determine whether the frequency band parameterindicates the first frequency range. When the frequency band parameterindicates the first frequency range, the controller 20 may, at block122, set a control signal state of the switch 62B to uncouple the filter70A from the antenna 57 and the filter 64 and may set a control signalstate of the switch 62C to uncouple the filter 70B from the antenna 57and the filter 64 using the switch 62C.

When the frequency band parameter does not indicate the first frequencyrange, the controller 20 may, at block 124, determine whether thefrequency band parameter indicates the second frequency range. When thefrequency band parameter indicates the second frequency range, thecontroller 20 may, at block 126, set control signal states of the switch62B and of the switch 62D to couple the filter 70A to the antenna 57 andthe filter 64 and may set a control signal state of the switch 62C touncouple the filter 70B from the antenna 57 and the filter 64. In someembodiments, when the frequency band parameter indicates the secondfrequency range, the controller 20 may set a control signal state of theswitch 62D to isolate the LNA 60A from the antenna 57 and the filter 64.The controller 20 may also set control signal states of the switch 62Fand the switch 62G to off to uncouple the LNAs 60A, 60B from the antenna57 and the filter 64.

When the frequency band parameter does not indicate the first frequencyrange or the second frequency range, the controller 20 may, at block128, default to operating in the third transmit mode, and thus may setcontrol signal states of the switch 62B and the switch 62D to couple thefilter 70A to the antenna 57 and the filter 64, and may set controlsignal states of the switch 62C and the switch 62E to couple the filter70B to the antenna 57 and the filter 64. The controller 20 may set acontrol signal state of the switch 62F to uncouple the LNA 60A from theantenna 57 during the third transmit mode and may set a control signalstate of the switch 62G to uncouple the LNA 60B from the antenna 57during the third transmit mode.

After the various filters 70 are coupled or uncoupled to the antenna 57and/or the filter 64 according to the blocks discussed above, at block130, the transmit signal 72 may be transmitted from the power amplifier56 to the antenna 57. The controller 20 may initiate the transmission ofthe transmit signal 72, and/or the transmission of the transmit signal72 may occur automatically with consideration for time for configurationof the transceiver 28.

Referring back to block 114, when the TX/RX parameter indicates areception operation, the controller 20 may, at block 118, may set acontrol signal state of the switch 62A to uncouple the power amplifier56 from the antenna 57 and from the filter 64. After, before, or whilesetting the control signal state to uncouple the power amplifier 56, thecontroller 20 may, at block 132, determine whether the frequency bandparameter indicates the first frequency range. When the frequency bandparameter indicates the first frequency range, the controller 20 may, atblock 134, set control signal states of the switch 62B and the switch62F to couple the filter 70A to the antenna 57 and the filter 64. Thecontroller 20 may also set a control signal state of the switch 62C touncouple the filter 70B, and thus the LNA 60B, from the antenna 57 andthe filter 64 and set a control signal state of the switch 62D to permitsignals to transmit through to the LNA 60A.

When the frequency band parameter does not indicate the first frequencyrange, the controller 20 may, at block 136, determine whether thefrequency band parameter indicates the second frequency range. When thefrequency band parameter indicates the second frequency range, thecontroller 20 may, at block 138, set a control signal state of theswitch 62C to couple the filter 70B and the LNA 60B to the antenna 57and the filter 64. The controller 20 may set a control signal state ofthe switch 62E to permit the receive signal 100 to transmit from theantenna 57 to the LNA 60A. The controller 20 may also set control signalstates of the switch 62B and the switch 62D to uncouple the filter 70Aand the LNA 60A from the antenna 57 and the filter 64.

When the frequency band parameter does not indicates the first frequencyrange and the second frequency range, the controller 20 may, at block140, default to using the third frequency range and may set controlsignal states of the switch 62B and the switch 62D to couple the filter70A to the antenna 57 and the filter 64 without also coupling the LNA60A to the antenna 57 and filter 64. The controller 20 also sets controlsignal states of the switch 62C and the switch 62E to couple the filter70B and the LNA 60B by activating the switch 62C to the antenna 57and/or the high pass filter 64 without activating the switch 62E.

After the various filters 70 are coupled or uncoupled to the antenna 57and/or the high pass filter 64 according to the blocks discussed above,the controller 20 may, at block 142, receive the receive signal 100 viathe antenna 57.

Once the transceiver 28 receives the receive signal 100 or transmits thetransmit signal 72, the controller 20 may, at block 144, determinewhether a subsequent communication operation is to be performed. To doso, the controller 20 may, for example, refer to a communicationconfiguration defining transmission and/or reception patterns of theelectronic device 10. In some cases, the controller 20 may read a statusregister able to indicate whether a subsequent communication operationis to occur. If, at block 144, the controller 20 determines that asubsequent communication operation is to occur, the controller 20 mayrepeat performance of the method 110, such as by returning to block 112.

However, in some cases, if the controller 20 determine that nosubsequent operation is to be performed at that time, at block 146, thecontroller 20 may reduce (e.g., power gate) or eliminate (e.g., remove)power supplied to at least a portion of the transceiver 28, such as thepower amplifier 56, and/or may other halt communication operations. Todo so, power supplied to the portions of the electronic device 10 (e.g.,power supplied to the transceiver 28) may be reduced or removed entirelybetween communication operations. In this manner, the method 110 mayenable the electronic device 10 to send or receive signals at differentfrequency bands by sharing and reusing radio frequency filters 64, 70A,70B. As a result, the number of radio frequency filters in theelectronic device 10 may be significantly reduced, resulting in asmaller electronic device overall and/or enabling additional componentsto be included in the electronic device 10. Moreover, the method 110 andelectronic devices 10 described herein may be suitable for transmittingand receiving signals of a variety of wavelengths (e.g., relativelynarrow wavelengths, middle wavelengths, wide wavelengths, ultrawidewavelengths), and, as such, not suffer from the deficiencies ofquarter-wavelength signal paths.

It is noted that, referring back to FIG. 9 as an example, turning on theswitch 62D may also redirect leakage currents to ground (e.g., referencevoltage) that may otherwise transmit to the receiver processingcircuitry 58A when combining the filter 70A with the filter 64.Similarly, turning on the switch 62E may redirect leakage currents tothe ground as opposed to the leakage current transmitting through to thereceiver processing circuitry 58B during a transmit operation.

Technical effects of the present disclosure include systems and methodsfor operating transceiver circuitry to transmit and/or receive signalson various frequency ranges by sharing and reusing radio frequencyfilters. In particular, a transmitter or a receiver of the transceivercircuitry may be selectively coupled to or uncoupled from an antenna ofthe transceiver circuitry. Additionally, radio frequency filters may beindividually or collectively coupled and/or uncoupled to the antenna tofilter different frequencies in the transmitting or receiving signals.

The specific embodiments described above have been shown by way ofexample, and it should be understood that these embodiments may besusceptible to various modifications and alternative forms. It should befurther understood that the claims are not intended to be limited to theparticular forms disclosed, but rather to cover all modifications,equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope ofthis disclosure.

The techniques presented and claimed herein are referenced and appliedto material objects and concrete examples of a practical nature thatdemonstrably improve the present technical field and, as such, are notabstract, intangible or purely theoretical. Further, if any claimsappended to the end of this specification contain one or more elementsdesignated as “means for [perform]ing [a function] . . . ” or “step for[perform]ing [a function] . . . ”, it is intended that such elements areto be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f). However, for any claimscontaining elements designated in any other manner, it is intended thatsuch elements are not to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f).

What is claimed is:
 1. A device, comprising: a first filter coupled toan antenna; a second filter coupled to a first low noise amplifier; athird filter coupled to a second low noise amplifier; and a controllerconfigured to: transmit a transmit signal on a first frequency band bycoupling the first filter to a power amplifier, uncoupling the secondfilter from the antenna and the power amplifier, and uncoupling thethird filter from the antenna and the power amplifier based at least inpart on one or more control signals indicating a first state; transmitthe transmit signal on a second frequency band by coupling the firstfilter to the power amplifier, coupling the second filter to the antennaand the power amplifier, and uncoupling the third filter from theantenna and the power amplifier based at least in part on the one ormore control signals indicating a second state; and transmit thetransmit signal on a third frequency band by coupling the first filterto the power amplifier, coupling the second filter to the antenna andthe power amplifier, and coupling the third filter to the antenna andthe power amplifier based at least in part on the one or more controlsignals indicating a third state.
 2. The device of claim 1, whereintransmitter processing circuitry is configured to generate the transmitsignal and send the transmit signal to the power amplifier foramplification and transmission via the antenna.
 3. The device of claim2, wherein the first frequency band comprises frequencies betweenapproximately 24 Gigahertz (GHz) and 33 GHz, wherein the secondfrequency band comprises frequencies between approximately 37 GHz and 43GHz, and wherein the third frequency band comprises frequencies betweenapproximately 43 GHz and 48 GHz.
 4. The device of claim 1, wherein thesecond filter comprises an inductor in electrical series with acapacitor.
 5. The device of claim 1, wherein the controller isconfigured to read a status indicating which one of the first frequencyband, the second frequency band, or the third frequency band to use totransmit the transmit signal.
 6. The device of claim 1, wherein thefirst filter comprises a high pass filter.
 7. The device of claim 6,wherein the controller is configured to reduce a total impedance atleast in part by coupling the first filter and the second filter to theantenna.
 8. The device of claim 1, wherein, when the controller isconfigured to transmit the transmit signal on the second frequency band,the one or more control signals comprise: a first control signalcharacterized by a first voltage, the first control signal configured tocouple the first filter to the power amplifier; a second control signalcharacterized by the first voltage, the second control signal configuredto couple the second filter to the antenna and the power amplifier; athird control signal characterized by a second voltage, the thirdcontrol signal configured to uncouple the third filter from the antennaand the power amplifier; and a fourth control signal characterized bythe first voltage, the fourth control signal configured to couple thesecond filter to a reference voltage terminal.
 9. An electronic device,comprising: a first switch configured to couple an antenna and a firstfilter to a first low noise amplifier via a second filter; a secondswitch configured to couple the antenna and the first filter to a secondlow noise amplifier via a third filter; a third switch configured tocouple the antenna and the first filter to a power amplifier; and acontroller configured to: receive a receive signal on a first frequencyband by activating the first switch to couple the first low noiseamplifier and the second filter to the antenna and the first filter, anddeactivating the second switch and the third switch to uncouple thesecond low noise amplifier, the third filter, and the power amplifierfrom the antenna; receive the receive signal on a second frequency bandby activating the second switch to couple the second low noise amplifierand the third filter to the antenna and the first filter, anddeactivating the first switch and the third switch to uncouple the firstlow noise amplifier, the second filter, and the power amplifier from theantenna; and receive the receive signal on a third frequency band byactivating the first switch and the second switch to couple the firstlow noise amplifier, the second filter, the second low noise amplifier,and the third filter to the antenna and the first filter, anddeactivating the third switch to uncouple the power amplifier from theantenna.
 10. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the poweramplifier, the antenna, the first filter, the second filter, and thethird filter are respectively separated by a plurality of transistors.11. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the first frequency bandcomprises frequencies between 24 Gigahertz (GHz) and 33 GHz, wherein thesecond frequency band comprises frequencies between 37 GHz and 43 GHz,and wherein the third frequency band comprises frequencies between 43GHz and 48 GHz.
 12. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the thirdfilter is coupled to a capacitor.
 13. The electronic device of claim 9,wherein the controller is configured to read a status indicating whichof the first frequency band, the second frequency band, or the thirdfrequency band to use to transmit a transmit signal.
 14. The electronicdevice of claim 9, wherein the second filter is configured to attenuatea range of frequencies based at least in part on an impedancecharacterizing circuitry of the second filter.
 15. The electronic deviceof claim 14, wherein the controller is configured to lower a value ofthe impedance at least in part by the coupling at least of the secondfilter or the third filter to the antenna and the first filter.
 16. Theelectronic device of claim 9, wherein the controller is configured tocouple the second filter to the antenna and the first filter at least inpart by coupling the second filter to a reference voltage terminal. 17.A method, comprising: receiving a frequency band parameter and atransmission or reception (TX/RX) parameter, wherein the frequency bandparameter and the TX/RX parameter indicate an operational state of anantenna, the antenna coupled to a first filter and configured to coupleto at least one of a second filter or a third filter; in response to theTX/RX parameter indicating a transmission operation: coupling theantenna to a power amplifier configured to amplify a transmit signalassociated with the transmission operation, in response to the frequencyband parameter indicating a first frequency band, uncoupling the secondfilter and the third filter from the antenna, in response to thefrequency band parameter indicating a second frequency band, couplingthe second filter to the antenna and uncoupling the third filter fromthe antenna, and in response to the frequency band parameter indicatinga third frequency band, coupling the second filter and the third filterto the antenna; and transmitting the transmit signal using the poweramplifier and the antenna.
 18. The method of claim 17, comprising: inresponse to the TX/RX parameter indicating a reception operation:uncoupling the antenna from the power amplifier, in response to thefrequency band parameter indicating the first frequency band, couplingthe second filter to the antenna and uncoupling the third filter fromthe antenna, in response to the frequency band parameter indicating thesecond frequency band, uncoupling the second filter from the antenna andcoupling the third filter to the antenna, and in response to thefrequency band parameter indicating the third frequency band, couplingthe second filter and the third filter to the antenna; and receiving areceive signal using the antenna.
 19. The method of claim 17,comprising: determining that there is no subsequent transmission orreception operation; and in response to the determination, removing orreducing an amount of power supplied to the power amplifier.
 20. Themethod of claim 17, wherein the first frequency band comprisesfrequencies between 24 Gigahertz (GHz) and 33 GHz, wherein the secondfrequency band comprises frequencies between 37 GHz and 43 GHz, andwherein the third frequency band comprises frequencies between 43 GHzand 48 GHz.